Han Zhongyu had been keeping an eye on their situation, and when Xie Yushu asked, he replied...
"That's natural. His Majesty loves his people like his own children, and naturally he cannot tolerate corrupt officials who prey on the people!"
His Majesty has bestowed upon me the Imperial Sword upon my arrival. Anyone who disobeys or obstructs this order may be executed first and reported later. This demonstrates His Majesty's determination to punish corrupt officials. Those like him will not be able to cause trouble for long!
If you are willing to help me punish evil and eliminate wickedness, it will be considered an act of chivalry and righteousness, and you will have done something for the tens of thousands of disaster victims in Tai'an Prefecture!
"The sooner we deal with these corrupt officials, the sooner we can recover the grain, seeds, and other supplies and distribute them to the disaster victims. This will allow the people of Tai'an Prefecture to recover from the disaster sooner. Otherwise, if we delay and miss the final planting deadline, who knows how many more people will freeze or starve to death this winter!"
After Han Zhongyu finished speaking, everyone fell silent. After a while, Xie Yushu spoke.
"Tianqi, what are your thoughts on whether or not you want to participate?"
Brother Liu, what do you think?
Whether you participate in this matter or not is entirely voluntary. It concerns your lives and fortunes. Discuss it among yourselves. If you don't want to participate, then pretend you were never here and never met Lord Han! Don't mention it to anyone!
"Sister, no matter what we choose, will you still side with Lord Han?"
"Yes! We'll see this through to the end! Especially since it concerns so many lives! Besides, I've had enough of the disaster victims' lives!"
"Whatever you do, I'll do! I'll follow your lead!"
Xie Tianqi quickly expressed her opinion.
Liu Qiang also said
"We brothers are willing to serve you, sir! We swear we will never regret it, even unto death!"
Han Zhongyu felt relieved to see that the others had expressed their opinions, so he asked them what their strengths were and made arrangements for them.
Liu Nan and Liu Bei often traveled through the mountains. They were skilled archers, fast runners, and had excellent teamwork in fights. So they took the token to invite Yi Shuihan!
Xie Tianqi and Liu Xiaodong were both unremarkable teenagers who knew a little martial arts. They stayed outside the city to deliver messages.
Liu Qiang and Xie Yushu brought the injured Han Zhongyu into the city, waiting for an opportunity to work together from the inside and outside to take down a group of corrupt officials in one fell swoop!
After everyone had made their arrangements, Liu Qiang told the villagers who had come with him to find a mountain hollow to camp in. He told them that the city gates were closed and they couldn't get through. If they tried to cross the mountain, they would easily encounter bandits. Moreover, these bandits were extremely vicious and dared to kill even officials, let alone ordinary people like them! The imperial court was sending troops to suppress the bandits, so it was best to wait a few days before leaving.
The villagers had no objections, after all, they saw a way to survive and no one wanted to die! Besides, the food and dried meat they brought could last for a few days!
Xie Baotian panicked when he saw that Xie Yushu, Xie Tianqi, and the Liu brothers were not with them. Xie Yushu made up a lie, saying that they had gone into the mountains to gather information, and that they all had martial arts skills and that she would be extra careful. She also asked Xie Tianqi to come back to see him once a day. Only then did Xie Baotian reluctantly let them go.
After Liu Nan left, Xie Tianqi and Liu Xiaodong mingled among the disaster victims outside the city, and took the opportunity to wander around the edge of the city to familiarize themselves with the roads.
Xie Yushu and Liu Qiang took Han Zhongyu to a secluded place to rest for a while.
They had planned to wait until Han Zhongyu's injuries improved before trying to get into the city, but he developed a high fever that night, and his cleaned wounds started to turn red again!
Xie Yushu had anticipated this; given the limited resources, the needles and thread weren't sterilized, and very few people could pull through on their own. Left with no other option, Xie Yushu had Liu Qiang watch over him while she went to the city to find medicine.
Liu Qiang was very frustrated about this. He always thought he was very capable, but in front of Xie Yushu, he always felt like a coward!
Han Zhongyu also began to have this feeling!
Xie Yushu didn't care about their feelings; she had already found a relatively loosely defended spot and climbed up the city wall with her bare hands!
Using only a knife to carefully stake out footholds along the ten-meter-high city wall was quite strenuous. Fortunately, although she was a military doctor in her previous life, she was still very well trained, otherwise she would have had a real hard time getting up there!
Perhaps the guards didn't think anyone could climb up, so they just walked around for a bit and then went back inside the city gate to play cards! Xie Yushu quietly slipped along the wall to the steps and went down them. After turning two corners, she saw guards below and jumped down from the side. Fortunately, she wasn't too high off the ground and didn't alert the guards!
Xie Yushu came in from the west. This should be a slum. Apart from the starlight and the hazy moonlight, there was no other light source. Fortunately, she could barely see the road!
In ancient times, the eastern part of a prefectural city was usually inhabited by high-ranking officials and nobles, the northern part by merchants, the southern part by markets and shops, the western part by ordinary people, and the central part by the government office. It seems that if you want to find medicine, you have to go to the southern part of the city.
For safety's sake, Xie Yushu walked a few blocks further in, passing through the alleyways!
I thought I wouldn't encounter anyone in the alley at this hour, but after only a few steps, I saw several people ahead of me laughing and carrying something!
Thinking it best to avoid trouble, Xie Yushu planned to duck and walk around, but at the moment of their encounter, someone grabbed the hem of her clothes!
"Help! Help me!"
The breath was very faint, but Xie Yushu still heard it clearly!
"You brat, let go!"
A man, cursing and swearing, slapped Xie Yushu's hand away!
"Here you go, hurry up and give me your girl!"
"Waaaah! Father, I don't want to die, please don't take my place!"
"Waaaaah, Daddy, I'm afraid of pain! I don't want to be eaten!"
Xie Yushu was shocked! She wondered if she had misheard. She couldn't help but ask...
"What did you say? What are you doing?"
"Waaaaah, sister, save me! I don't want to be eaten!"
When the girl saw Xie Yushu stop, she seemed to grasp at a lifeline and grabbed Xie Yushu's clothes again!
The man shoved Xie Yushu in a fit of rage and cursed.
"You bitch! Mind your own business and get lost!"
Xie Yushu rushed forward and grabbed the man's collar.
"What did you say? What are you doing? Speak!"
The man was already feeling guilty; his earlier shouting was merely an attempt to scare Xie Yushu away. Once Xie Yushu grabbed him, he immediately deflated and pleaded.
"Go away! These days, it's not just one family like this. We have no choice; at least one member of the family has to survive!"
"So you're going to eat people? Are you even human?"
Xie Yushu couldn't contain her anger!
"Yes, we are not human, but who doesn't eat people?"
Does that official not eat people?
Don't unscrupulous merchants eat people? Don't thugs and bullies eat people?
Two taels of silver per catty of grain! We sold everything we could! We kowtowed and begged those officials, landlords, gentry, and grain shopkeepers for some grain, but who would give it to us?
You can't get any food if you're short even a copper coin. In this area, every pretty girl has traded her money for food!
If a constable has six concubines, then the registrar must have eighteen concubines; their courtyards can't even hold them all! Don't they eat people?
"They're just more capable; they can eat people without shedding blood, and they do it more gracefully than we do!"
The man was yelling hysterically!
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